A large amount of information and entertainment is available on websites that are accessible over networks such as the Internet. And in most instances, this information is located on web pages that are viewable and interoperable in a manner suitable for relatively stationary computing devices with large displays, such as desktop and notebook computers. Typically, the displays of these computing devices enable an entire web page to be viewed without scrolling. Also, web pages often include selectable links that enable navigation to other web pages and/or resources which can provide different types of functionality, such as audio, image, and video. Additionally, the navigation of some web pages is designed for relatively standard user interfaces, such as a keyboard and a pointing device.
As a result of several advances in wireless technology, relatively small mobile devices have become ubiquitous, such as telephones, smart phones, pagers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, network appliances, wireless headsets, digital cameras, and integrated devices combining the functionality of one or more of these devices, or the like. And many of these “pocket sized” mobile devices are capable of wirelessly communicating information over large remote networks, such as the Internet.
Unfortunately, each type of mobile device often has one or more constraints that limit their ability to present web pages in the same manner as other larger computing devices, such as personal computers and notebook computers. For example, the resolution, size, and color palette of a display screen integrated into a mobile device is often unique to that particular type of mobile device and much smaller than that which is available for the larger computing devices. Also, there are several different types of user interfaces for navigation provided for the different types of mobile devices, e.g., touch screens, scroll wheels, thumb keyboards, function keys, or the like. Additionally, a browser application employed to present a web page for display with a mobile device is often uniquely configured to operate in a manner optimized for that particular mobile device's display screen, navigation controls, and functionality. Consequently, the manner of in which web pages are displayed for particular mobile devices is often somewhat different than web pages that are displayed for larger computing devices that have somewhat relatively standard navigation controls and functionality, and significantly larger display screens with greater resolutions, sizes and color palettes.
Although some websites are now providing web pages that are separately optimized for display with a mobile device, most do not. And even those web sites that do provide such “optimized” mobile web pages, their content is often incomplete and incompatible with the different types and constraints of many mobile devices.